"Run"

He waved me past his pitchin’ horse,

He was tryin’ hard to ride,

We had let a herd of heifers,

Get by us and outside.

And there they went a-hoofin’,

Down the middle of the road,

I was ridin’ my old dun horse,

My friend did not get throwed.

But one of us was needed,

To gallop and out-run,

Those crazy bovine heifers,

George Strait could get it done.

And no, don’t mean the singer,

Though he’s the best of all,

I’m talkin’ ‘bout my dun horse,

That’s what I named him, y’all.

Well, back to my story,

‘Cause if you’ve never seen,

A bunch of crazy heifers,

About to escape clean,

It can get kinda scary,

If traffic’s comin, too,

And I looked up and saw some cars,

And thought they can’t go through.

There’s a big rule with the cowboys,

You never do ride past,

The fella who’s the cow boss,

If you want your job to last.

So I would not go past him,

Until he waved me by,

That young horse he was ridin’,

Was a handful, that’s no lie.

So me and Strait we chased ‘em,

Down the shoulder of the road,

The cars all getting’ closer,

And that’s when George Strait showed,

How much I could depend on him,

To be there when he should,

And, yes, he turned those cattle,

And I’m just glad he could.

Reminds me of a long ago,

When I was on the run,

Danger was approaching,

Though I was having fun.

And, yes, the Good Lord chased me,

Thank God He got me turned,

Before I got run over,

And got my lesson learned.

How well I remember,

His gentleness and speed,

To help me come back to Him,

And meet my every need.

Old Strait is still my pony,

And we still get things done,

But I won’t soon forget the day,

We turned cattle on the run.

“…you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God…” (1 Thessalonians 1:9, NLT)

Our relationship to the Lord begins when we stop running from Him and turn back to Him. Turning or repenting in scripture is a big deal. Repentance comes from a Greek word which means to change one’s mind resulting in a change in one’s behavior. Changing direction is a necessity if we are to follow Jesus, and He enables this by His power and grace. It’s also true that at times we get off track, and when we do, it’s time to take a spiritual inventory and return once again. He is always there and ready to help us take the next step of faith in the journey.

Lord, help us to turn away from idols and turn to You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Owen. Used by permission. Thanks, and God bless.